I just finished watching it, and every character in it is well portrayed, including the romantic father, the strong mother, the doting eldest sister, the fierce second sister, the weak third sister, and their families, not to mention the five tiger generals of the Imperial Academy. They are beautiful.
I like Mei. Maybe it's because she was weak but worked hard to follow the footsteps of the two of them. Maybe she died too early. It's always a bit hard to reconcile.